Food retailers start to go green
Reducing single-use plastic packaging goes a long way towards saving our planet
Four years ago renowned British broadcaster and natural historial David Attenborough made a documentary series that changed how consumers in a number of countries viewed plastics. Blue Planet II contained some heartbreaking moments, such as when an albatross fed plastic to her chicks.
“Never before have we had such an awareness of what we are doing to the planet and never before have we had the power to do something about that. Surely we have a responsibility to care for our blue planet,” Attenborough said.
The series sparked a movement in many Western countries to have plastic straws banned, as these are one of the biggest polluters of the world’s oceans. A survey done by British supermarket Waitrose in 2018 with 2000 respondents showed that most of them changed their attitude towards plastic after seeing the series, and more than half started using reusable water bottles.
In South Africa, this trend caught on too, especially among the youth. According to a Broll Property Intel Retail snapshot report in 2019 called Retailers’ Transparency and Sustainability, consumers — especially Millennials and Gen Z — wanted to know more about the products they purchased with regards to sustainability and environmental impact.
“In an era where information and data is freely available, consumers have become more aware of today’s pressures — be it environmental, social and/ or economical. Retailers’ target markets are no longer making purchases solely based on taste, price or convenience,” the report states.
The report also states that activism around singleuse plastics was overtaken by the effort to combat
Covid-19 at the start of 2020, but the pandemic also brought about a greater awareness of how important it is to maintain a good relationship with the environment.
Reusing food packaging and keeping these out of the waste stream isn’t new. Global manufacturer of paper and woodpulp products, Sappi, in its tips on how to reduce, reuse and recycle, notes: “Reusing manufactured materials and containers is a discipline that was second nature to our parents and grandparents, and is one that we all need to develop again.”
It notes that making use of reusable shopping bags, instead of disposable ones, is a good way to help
lighten the load on the environment.
It was also the year that South Africa’s 10-year countdown of its “zero-waste to landfill” agenda started. Industry regulations will enforce change to a degree, but manufacturers will also need some incentives to keep costs low in an industry that is pressed for margins.
The cost is normally passed on to the consumer, and a balance should be found between cost to the environment and financial costs.
One retail chain that has consciously embarked on a journey towards zero packaging waste to landfill is Woolworths, which has set itself a goal of 2022. In April it announced that 52 more stores will do away with single-use plastic shopping bags, taking the total number of stores shunning this form of packaging to over 200. It also replaced polystyrene plastic packaging with a kraft box base for its “Ripe and Ready” avocados, made from 63% recycled paper, equating to an annual plastic saving of between 35 and 40 tonnes. It is covered with a fully recyclable shrink wrap.
Latiefa Behardien, Woolworths Head of Foods Technology, Safety and Good Business Journey, called it “a significant achievement at a time when we have had so many supply uncertainties”.
She said the sustainable choices didn’t come without challenges: the retailer worked with its suppliers and packaging manufacturers for over two years on the new design.
Some of the changes Woolworths envisages making towards its 2022 goal is to use less packaging, use less material for their packaging, and ensure that all their packaging is recyclable in South Africa.
Smaller chains such as The Refillery, which has three branches in Gauteng, are also offering retail experiences with minimal packaging, or packaging made from beeswax.
Husband and wife team Samantha and Dom Moleta opened the plastic-free store in March 2019 at Cedar Park in Fourways after their six years in the yachting industry exposed them first-hand to the impact unrecycled single-use plastic waste has on the oceans. They use beeswax wrappers in place of clingwrap and encourage customers to bring their own containers to fill up. They also sell glass containers.
Goods at The Refillery are at times cheaper than in supermarkets, and buying by weight means consumers can buy smaller quantities.